Review of New Single from Karissa

March 23, 2020 Leave a comment

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REVIEW OF

LIGHT AT THE END OF DARKNESS – KARISSA HAMBILTON

by Adam Jones. 20/3/2020

The piano notes tinkle gently as they introduce a voice with the huskiness of Stevie Nicks and the passion of the great late Janis Joplin. The light at the end of the darkness in so much piano rock is here, with a well-written song and the perfect level of emotion for the lyrical subject. This is what Delta might have been like when she came out, if she had some Aussie guts! And don’t forget the B-side “it was only me in this delirium..this reality…only to be with you” in a Utopian Coma, a gently contrasting but equally emotional performance from Karissa Hambilton, along with some complementary electric rock rhythm guitar.

This strong woman really does rock hard, well, hard enough for me. And those floating piano notes are always entrancing, every time it features momentarily during these songs. Karissa has been tapping the ebony and ivory and smashing out her dynamic vocals since 2011, and her latest offering reveals the maturity and development of a fine artist delivering from the pocket that she fits snugly into.

This is what I call ‘good driving music’. I can take the wheel and engage in her emotional rollercoaster whilst still happily avoiding those giant road trains! Although, I could have this on during a dinner party, and it would make nice vibrations for my guests’ ears to occasionally tune into, indulge in, during that sweet but brandy-drenched dessert.

So, without further ado, I tip my glass to you, Karissa, and say a simple ‘thank you for your music’. Never give up, because you’ve got this!

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New March Playlist

March 23, 2020 Leave a comment

Our new additions and playlist changes for March include new releases from Karissa, Fiona joy and Throwing Shapes as well as tunes lifted from current albums by Graham Gouldman, The Mezcaltones, Steve Kilbey, Gareth Koch and more.

Steve Kilbey / Gareth Koch – ‘Stay Where You are’ (from the album Chryse Planitia)
Big Merino – ‘I Lay Me Down (2020 Remix)’ (remix single from the album Sweet Little Angel)
Graham Gouldman – ‘Standing Next To Me’ (from the album Modesty Forbids)
Karissa – ‘Utopian Coma’ (from the album Light at the End of Darkness)
Park Haven – ‘Take Cover’ (single)
Fiona Joy Hawkins – ‘Bushfire Moon’ (single)
The Mezcaltones – ‘Shango’s Surfwaxxx’ (from the album Mexican Hillbilly Surf Music)
Throwing Shapes – ‘Tranquility Base’ (from the album Tranquility Base)

Have a listen to all these songs on Our Soundslikecafe Digital Playlist On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5r0hsdTsV5N3aZAXUWt6r2?si=FcW9kDa4RcCWwF980x2Iaw

Park Haven Latest Single Release Take Cover

February 24, 2020 Leave a comment

The newest add to our playlist, and its a help to the Bushfire Crisis as well – check it out…..

Hi. We’re Harry and Isobel. We’re married and we live in an apartment block called Park Haven. We’ve both been musos in our separate spaces for a while but only started making music together this summer when Isobel penned a song about her awkward teenage crush on Harry. Then we got carried away and made some more tunes. We’re inspired by 70’s apartment blocks, 80’s synthesisers and 90’s video games. To be honest we don’t really know what to call the combination of those things but we hope you find a vibe you enjoy in our songs.

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The Mezcaltones Feature Album Mexican Hillbilly Surf Music

February 21, 2020 Leave a comment

The Mezcaltones Mexican Hillbilly Surf Music
The band’s third album finds them at the top of their game with brilliantly written and played originals along with a tasteful selection of covers lifted from their live set. Recorded and mixed in just over a week at Damien Gerard’s new expanded studios on the Central Coast, the album stands as their most cohesively accessible and sonically pleasing to date.

Only released last Friday to coincide with the launch on Sydney’s Northern Beaches to their home crowd, the Album is already garnering reviews such as:
“The third album from the enigmatic Mezcaltones is cranking, feelgood drinking music that crawls into your boots and drags you to the dance floor of any number of dusty roadside Mexican Saloons.” Redback Rock
“The good, the bad, the groovy, playing all things cool with a Tarantino and strong Mexican flavour. Blog

The band have also been invited to co host Ross Fear’s influential Australian Spectrum show this Tuesday March 3.

The band will be playing over the next few weeks to promote the record, see dates below.

And now to the band – Just what is it about the Mezcaltones –
Four guys dressed as cowboys and two women dressed like Spanish Mexican Senoritas that you might find in a Quentin Tarantino movie – two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, a crazy front man and a beautiful dancer/percussionist. Whilst their original songs have an alt country flavour with rich cowboy guitar sounds reminiscent of another century, the guitar tones also reach into the realms of 60’s surf instrumentals.

See them live at

Album – Out Now – Foghorn/MGM
CD on sale at Shows
Click below for DSP’s

Connect with The Mezcaltones:

For further information please contact:
Marshall Cullen at Foghorn Media
0416 143 030
marshall@foghornrecords.net

Karissa-Light at the End of Darkness

February 13, 2020 Leave a comment

A regular soundslikecafe artist Karissa has recorded a brilliant new single, 2 songs that will capture your imagination with her heartfelt lyrics and delivery. Listen below and find it on the new February playlist.

Based in Young, Karissa divides her time between a young family, running her own business and her recoding career.

She lists her influences as Paramore, Muse, Sia and Lady Gaga. In her own words: “I love making music- it’s that simple. It’s always been part of my life and it’s who I am. I was put on this earth to stroke the keys of a keyboard and singing gives me inner satisfaction. It’s how I can express how the music makes me feel- emotion and passion. It’s been to long since I’ve done a recording and it was so good being back in the studio. I’ve longed for it and I felt like myself again being back in the studio creating music.”

About this track…Light at the End Of Darkness

This piano driven track also features full rhythm section with an up-tempo catchy feel. Karissa’s lyrics speak of passion, frustration and loss but resolve into the positive.

About this track…Utopian Coma

A ballad from Karissa with her signature piano work and vocals augmented by drums, bass and guitar. Reminiscent of anthemic 90’s tracks from artists such as Evanescence and Paramore.

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STEVE KILBEY AND GARETH KOCH NEW ALBUM CHRYSE PLANITIA

February 3, 2020 Leave a comment

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What unites the musical spheres of an Australian rock icon and a Viennese-trained classical musician?

The answer lies in a shared aesthetic and approach to their craft. There is a wistful and haunting lilt to the Kilbey/Koch songs, as they float seamlessly through a narrative of fallen crowns, fatal hours, and enchanted gardens. To complement the poignant lyrics is delicious instrumentation, weaving and wafting, ghostly and waif-like, alternately brimming with rhythmic drive, present yet somehow elusive.

Hot on the heels of two critically acclaimed singles, the debut album Chryse Planitiapulses with a strong and immediately recognisable musical identity. Kilbey and Koch have forged an entirely new sound characterised by a fluid and elegant movement across genres. Their partnership draws inspiration from medieval music to post-modern psychedelia, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, with every imaginable influence in between.

(photo credit: Tony Mott)

Steve Kilbey, also known as the frontman of veteran rock band The Church, has generated a lifetime of beautifully crafted songs. His subtly esoteric lyrics create an aura of mystery, posing questions and teasing the listener with riddle-like answers. Kilbey’s words evoke a succession of images, half-remembered whisperings at the edge of our consciousness. He is a poet-master of unsaid things whose writing arouses the dreamer within us.

Gareth Koch is a European-born classical guitarist and composer who has recorded most of the major repertoire. His compositional style reflects a lifelong engagement with classical, folk and flamenco music. Although not easy to define, Koch’s music is often characterised by medieval gestures, influenced by the unrequited longing style of the French Trouveres (singer-poets) of the 12^thcentury.

Expertly mixed by Russell Pilling of Damien Gerard Studios and superbly mastered by Grammy Award-winning King Willy Sound, Chryse Planitia is a feast for the ears.

Release Dates February 7 (Foghorn/MGM) Digital Platforms and CD Instore, April/May Vinyl LP

Connect with Steve Kilbey:

Connect with Gareth Koch:

Nick De La Hoyde – A Beautiful Mess Debut Album

January 31, 2020 Leave a comment

Soundslikecafe is proud to present this brilliant young aussie kicking goals both here and overseas with his modern positive sounding tunes and lyrics –

Growingup in a multi-cultural home with a Syrian mother and British father, Sydney based, singer songwriter Nick de la Hoyde was exposed to many global influences that he now weaves into his music. Melding his love of hip hop, pop and R&B with introspective lyrics that chronicles a young musician’s journey to adulthood, overcoming life and artistic challenges along the path, Nick and his long-time producer/collaborator/older brother Joseph (ZUZU) de la Hoyde, have together crafted a sound that is simultaneously intimate, expansive and engaging. Having penned confessional, real life anthems, such as High,Ghost, Animals, California,Mirror Mirror, Hold Me Close, and Love Takes Time,that oscillate between moody, textured R&B, anthemic synth laden future-pop and hip hop, combined with a lyrical earnestness that speaks directly to today’s younger generation. Nick has quickly made a name for himself, cultivating a large and dedicated on-line following and is establishing himself a powerful voice for self empowerment and positivity.

Check it out NOW !!

Connect with Nick

Official Site

Eldafyre New Album RAW

January 19, 2020 Leave a comment

Introducing Eldafyre and his new album RAW, our latest feature artist and album on Soundslikecafe

‘Eldafyre’is a stylist acoustic poet. Sending out euphoric melancholia infused with the deep passion of love, from all things. Eldafyre grew up in Shepparton and now resides within the northern rivers of NSW or deep in the mountains near Melbourne. With four mastered studio albums we see a vast range of genres. The one you have in your hands was 3 years in the making. Eldafyre wrote every song in one evening. Recreating the same lyrical stories to a dark jazz smokey noir band. Hand selected and collaborated with some of the best session musicians available in Australia. After three years absorbing the creation, a remix was made with an intention to finalize the work of art. Filtered organically with all ego and unwanted material omitted. With influences from Patti Smith, Rodriguez and Melanie Safka. Eldafyre thinks of himself as a storyteller. Telling this story as a studio musician.

Eldafyre on his music and live performance – “Expect music therapy. Expect to be relaxed. Expect to forget about your worries. Most report a deep sense of healing and restoration after my performances.”

We think you will be impressed with this record too, and its just the first of more to come from this exciting new artist…

The RAW album has been described as “DARK JAZZ SMOKEY NOIR”

The Tracklist includes

1- welcome around

2- another wholesome night

3 the evening came together

4 where connection bonds-(checkout the feature video below)

5- what lies down

6 long pause

7 a last goodbye

Check it out now-

Eldafyre-Where Connection Bonds(Official)

January 19, 2020 Leave a comment

Tim Walker’s Red Velvet Chair

November 9, 2019 Leave a comment

After moving back to his hometown of Adelaide earlier this year, ex-Sydney singer-songwriter Tim Walker set to work to record a new album, inspired by a recent trip to Europe. Tim, who began in folk before evolving into a country rock act, is now a prolific soloist doing gigs around Adelaide.

The first single from the forthcoming album is Red Velvet Chair – a pen portrait of a woman on the rebound and determined to enjoy her ‘freedom’, but also vulnerable at the same time because of it. The song’s narrator invites her to sit down on the ‘red velvet chair’ and collect her thoughts.

The single’s ‘B side’, On The Bridge, will be the opening track on the eventual album, and is a completely different sentiment. A short, classical prelude to all that is to follow, providing the thematic underpinning of the entire album – a beautiful floating spark of hope and redemption for a world in flux.

Walker’s new album, due for release early in 2020, was recorded in a Grange studio according to a strict plan. A spiritual album with more universal themes than his debut, the album echoes the singer’s recent European trip, where he was struck in particular by the European culture, saturated with centuries of spiritual and religious symbols.

Download or stream:

Connect with Tim:

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